Alert archive / North Carolina / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2004

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 69, NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC

May 31, 2004Buncombe County, North Carolina

NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 31, 2004, 5:26 AM EDT for Buncombe County, North Carolina. It was in force for 49 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: May 31, 2004, 5:26 AM EDT (09:26 UTC)
Expired: May 31, 2004, 6:15 AM EDT
In force: 49 min
Issued by: NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Buncombe County, NC

The radar

The Greer radar (KGSP), 88 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 09:27 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.

Open the radar archive at this moment

The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.

Did it verify

Not verified. The Iowa Environmental Mesonet's Cow found no qualifying storm report inside this severe thunderstorm warning while it was in force. That is not proof nothing happened: reports are thin where few people live.

Cow counts a report within 15 km of the polygon while the warning was in force: a tornado for a tornado warning; hail of 1 inch or more, a gust of 58 mph or more or wind damage for a severe thunderstorm warning; a flash flood report for a flash flood warning.

The watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
May 31, 1:40 AM EDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC (KGSO), launched 00:00Z, 9.4 hours before the alert went out and 241 km from the middle of its area. This is the routine balloon launch nearest before it, the air the forecaster had in hand, not a measurement taken for the alert.

Skew-T log-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km.

Mixed-layer CAPE: 504 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -52 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1119 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 34 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 84 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 149 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.1
Supercell composite: 1.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

688 
WUUS52 KGSP 310926
SVRGSP
NCC021-311015-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
526 AM EDT MON MAY 31 2004

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  BUNCOMBE COUNTY IN WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA

* UNTIL 615 AM EDT

* AT 526 AM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED A LINE OF
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS FROM 10 MILES SOUTHWEST OF BURNSVILLE TO 14
  MILES SOUTHWEST OF MARSHALL...MOVING SOUTH AT 35 MPH.

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE NEAR...
  CANDLER AROUND 530 AM EDT.
  ASHEVILLE AROUND 535 AM EDT.
  SWANNANOA AROUND 540 AM EDT.
  BLACK MOUNTAIN AROUND 545 AM EDT.

ALTHOUGH TORNADOES HAVE NOT BEEN DETECTED WITH THIS LINE OF SEVERE
THUNDERSTORMS...A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT. TORNADOES CAN DEVELOP
WITHOUT WARNING FROM A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM.

PEOPLE IN THE PATH OF THIS LINE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS SHOULD BE
ALERT FOR LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS. FREQUENT LIGHTNING AND
LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN CAN OCCUR WITH ANY THUNDERSTORM.

LAT...LON 3582 8241 3576 8255 3567 8285 3543 8273
          3545 8247 3554 8219

$$

NED

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at May 31, 2:43 AM EDT, 2 hours 43 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 31, 2:43 AM EDT, 2 hours 43 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
243 AM EDT MON MAY 31 2004

.SHORT TERM...
CONVECTIVE LINE STRETCHES FROM JUST EAST OF OHX TO NEAR JKL THIS
MORNING WITH TORNADO WATCH CURRENTLY IN PLACE ACROSS THE WESTERN
CWFA. SHEAR PROFILES STEADILY INCREASE THIS MORNING WITH 850 MB
WINDS PROGGED TO REACH 50 KT TOWARD 12Z AS FLOW GOES MORE
UNIDIRECTIONAL. SLIGHT TIMING DIFFS CONT TO EXIST WITH MCS MOVING
THROUGH REGION THIS MORNING...WITH THE GFS FEATURING FASTER TIMING.
ETA FIELDS HAVE INITIALIZED FAIRLY WELL THIS MORNING...HOWEVER...AND
SLIGHTLY SLOWER TIMING MEANS EASTERN PIEDMONT SECTIONS COULD
REALIZE IMPROVED INSTABILITY BEFORE SURFACE COLD POOL MOVES THROUGH
TODAY. WILL FEATURE HIGHEST POPS WEST EARLY TO LOWEST EAST AND THEN
REVERSE THE PATTERN FOR THIS AFTERNOON.

FAIRLY DEEP DRYING SHOULD THEN SET IN ACROSS THE WRN CAROLINAS AND
NORTHEAST GEORGIA AS AREA IS CAUGHT BETWEEN DEEP ROTATING VORTEX
ACROSS THE NRN CONUS AND MOIST BOUNDARY SOUTH OF THE REGION THROUGH
TUE. MOISTURE WILL THEN STEADILY RECOVER THROUGH WED WITH ETA
FEATURING NEXT SHOT OF UPPER DYNAMICS ROTATING IN FROM GREAT LAKES
LOW BY LATE IN THE DAY.

.LONG TERM...
PATTERN REMAINS UNSETTLED THROUGH THE REST OF THE WEEK AS ERN TROUGH
DEEPENS THROUGH FRI. NO CHANGES ARE ANTICIPATED TO THE REMAINDER OF
THE MEDIUM RANGE AT THIS TIME.
&&

.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
GSP  83  62  86  63 /  60  20  10  10
AND  84  62  86  64 /  60  20  10  10
CLT  86  62  87  64 /  50  20  10  10
HKY  83  59  84  61 /  60  20  10  10
AVL  78  57  81  57 /  70  20  20  10
&&

.GSP WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
GA...NONE.
NC...NONE.
SC...NONE.
&&

HG

In the hours before

Local storm report, May 31, 3:30 AM EDT, 1 hour 56 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
330 AM EDT MON MAY 31 2004

..TIME...   ...EVENT...     ...CITY LOCATION...      ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....     ..COUNTY LOCATION...ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0310 AM     TSTM WND DMG     5 N WAYNESVILLE         35.56N 83.00W
05/31/2004                   HAYWOOD            NC   TRAINED SPOTTER

            SPOTTER REPORTS SEVERAL TREES SNAPPED AND POWER OUTAGES
            DUE TO ESTIMATED 60 TO 70 MPH WIND GUST.

&&

HG

Special weather statement, May 31, 4:01 AM EDT, 1 hour 25 minutes before

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
401 AM EDT MON MAY 31 2004

GAZ010-017-NCZ033-048>053-058-059-062>065-SCZ001>003-310958-
AVERY NC-BUNCOMBE NC-GRAHAM NC-GREENVILLE MOUNTAINS SC-HABERSHAM GA-
HAYWOOD NC-HENDERSON NC-MACON NC-MADISON NC-MITCHELL NC-
NORTHERN JACKSON NC-OCONEE MOUNTAINS SC-PICKENS MOUNTAINS SC-
RABUN GA-SOUTHERN JACKSON NC-SWAIN NC-TRANSYLVANIA NC-YANCEY NC-
401 AM EDT MON MAY 31 2004

...STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS AFFECTING THE MOUNTAINS OF THE
WESTERN CAROLINAS AND NORTHEAST GEORGIA...

AT 401 AM...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
CLUSTER OF THUNDERSTORMS MOVING NORTHEAST AT 35 MPH INTO THE SOUTHERN
APPALACHIANS. ANY OF THESE THUNDERSTORMS COULD BECOME SEVERE AT ANY
MOMENT...AND A FEW COULD BECOME TORNADIC. MOST AFFECTED THROUGH 6 AM
WILL BE LOCATIONS SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 40...ESPECIALLY FROM THE
SMOKIES TO FRANKLIN TO CLAYTON. WINDS OF 40 TO 50 MPH CAN BE EXPECTED
WITH NEARLY ANY THUNDERSTORM.

HG

The office that day

Everything else NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 31, 2:55 AM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GSP	Haywood	50 min
May 31, 3:11 AM EDT	Tornado Warning	GSP	Haywood	34 min
May 31, 3:20 AM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GSP	Swain	40 min
May 31, 3:45 AM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GSP	Haywood	45 min
May 31, 4:37 AM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GSP	Graham	38 min
May 31, 4:46 AM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GSP	Swain	59 min
May 31, 5:00 AM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GSP	Macon	45 min
May 31, 5:08 AM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GSP	Mitchell, Yancey	52 min
May 31, 7:43 AM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GSP	Gaston, Mecklenburg	47 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in North Carolina, 2004 Every severe thunderstorm warning in 2004

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.